


Keeper Of The Wolves

by princessstilinski147



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cutesy, Derek is the Alpha, M/M, Multi, angsty, basically Derek babysitting Stiles, druid emissary! stiles, im real bad at tagging, most likely some sadness, stiles doesnt know hes a druid, stiles' real name is meonenim, where the wild things are au, young! stiles knows way too many curse words for his age, young!Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-18 03:17:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7297285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessstilinski147/pseuds/princessstilinski147
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was only ten years old when his mother passed away; right in front of his eyes he watched as the life slipped out of her eyes. It devastated him- why did his mother have to pass away? Why /him/? Stiles was too young to understand, too young to know how to contain his own feelings. </p>
<p>So he did something he was familiar with; he ran away. He ran as far, and as fast, as he possibly could. That was up until he reached the ruins of the Hale house and was surrounded by a pack of werewolves. </p>
<p>Stiles didn't know it, at the time, but one action turned his entire life upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Running Away From Home

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so I decided to watch the movie "Where The Wild Things Are", and this lovely au came out of it. I, of course, hope you enjoy this beautiful thing!! 
> 
> P.S., in case you're curious on pronunciation, 'Meonenim' is pronounced 'Meo-nim'. At least, that's how most of the websites I visited pronounced it. ( https://www.howtopronounce.com/meonenim/ )

“Meonenim!” His father called after him, the man desperately chasing after his child. As hard as he tried, John just couldn’t seem to catch up to the quick ten year old. The kid was fast; far faster than him. 

He panted, following him outside until he lost track of his child completely. “Meo!” He called out again, glancing around quickly to find any trace of his now run-away-child. Everything was just happening so quickly; his wife’s death, and now his only child running away. 

oOo

Tears streamed down Stiles’ face as he bolted into the woods, completely ignoring the calls that came from his father. He was just so overwhelmed with everything that he didn’t know how to react anymore. He didn’t want to feel anything anymore, he wanted to get so far away from that hospital and his father, and just everything. He needed to escape. In the spur of the moment, running away from everything had seemed like the brightest idea he’d had in awhile. 

Although, when he finally stopped, and he found himself completely and utterly lost in the middle of the woods, it no longer seemed like a good idea. 

His eyes widened as he looked around, turning in all directions as a way to sort of get a feel of which way would lead him out of the woods. No- he ran away. There was no going back now. 

With a few shaky breaths and him at least attempting to clear his mind, he slowly continued through the forest. This time, though, he wasn’t running. The ten year old took an account of where he was, looking at all the trees that seemed like they could touch the sky. Wouldn’t it be nice if he could touch the sky like they could? Trees were so carefree; he wished he could be one. 

Maybe if he was a tree than he could be taller, too. Really tall. Taller than skyscrapers. He smiled softly at the thought, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his grey hoodie. 

Stiles was pulled from his thoughts as he approached a house- a house that looked as if it would collapse any minute with just how much charred wood was on it. He wondered instantly what had happened, and if anyone was still living in it. He doubted it, seeing it looked horrible. Maybe, then, he would be able to make it his new home. His castle. 

At the idea of such, he proudly began to approach his new castle, a grin on his face. He stopped as soon as he caught sight of people. Four to be exact. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as abandoned as he originally had thought. Maybe it wasn’t going to be his castle- that was fine. 

He started to turn, planning to get out of there, but stopped when he heard one speak; a male with blonde curls. 

“Hey, kid!” Isaac shouted, jogging a bit as he watched the young child freeze. Poor kid was probably terrified. He smirked at the thought. He was a bit sadistic. “What cha doin’ out here?” He asked curiously, approaching. Scott followed closely behind him. And behind Scott was Erica and Body. 

Almost instantly the pack surrounded the ten year old, caging him right on the spot and keeping him there. 

Stiles felt as his heart started to hammer against his chest, his fingers moving to anxiously pick at the lint inside his pockets. He really didn’t feel like dying today. His mouth went dry and it felt as if he couldn’t speak. He didn’t know how he was supposed to answer, what he was supposed to say. Or more likely, what he could say to get out of the situation. He just hoped and prayed they would leave him alone on their own. 

Erica raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her lips. “Aw, look, he’s shy.~” She said nonchalantly, practically able to smell the anxiety dripping off the young child. They could all smell it. 

Isaac scoffed in response. “Nah, he’s just scared.” He pointed out, crouching down in front of Stiles. “I said… What’re you doing out here?” He repeated. It wasn’t too often that the got company out in the woods, and if they did it was usually a rival pack that wanted to kill them. So, yeah, it wasn’t too much fun. He figured they’d mess with the kid a little first. Especially seeing Derek wasn’t there. 

If Derek was there, he’d surely ruin the fun, probably kick their asses for scaring some kid. 

The ten year old parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out. He started breathing heavier as his palms became sweaty. “I-I,” He stuttered, cut off by the vicious laugh Isaac let out. Scott frowned softly, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t really like torturing some kid, but he wasn’t about to go against the pack. Boyd didn’t seem to care either way. 

“We’re gonna need a better answer than that!” He said, the pack beginning to circle around Stiles. “... Or we’ll have to eat you.” He cooed. 

He watched as every pack member passed him over and over again, keeping his eyes mainly on Isaac. He seemed to be a threat, after all. He didn’t like this- he wanted to run again. Get the hell out of there before something terrible happened. As the ten year old slowly became even more overwhelmed, if that was even possible, he looked away and instead trained his eyes on the ground. Though, as Isaac passed him for perhaps the fifth time, his eyes darted to the older male. 

Stiles drew in a sharp breath, his chest puffing out a bit as he stood taller. “Be still!” He yelled as loud as he could. The pack stilled not even two seconds later, surprised looks coming from the pack. 

They couldn’t control how annoyingly still they had suddenly become; it was as if the kid had put some odd spell on them. As if he had somehow managed to tie them all up; but he hadn’t. That wasn’t at all the case. Somehow, a kid who didn’t look much older than nine, was able to stop four werewolves with a simple command. 

Stiles looked pretty shocked himself. He paused, swallowing thickly as he looked between the four werewolves. This was all some weird dream he’d hopefully wake up from, right? He sort of hoped so. 

Though, as fast as it had happened, they were once again able to move freely. The shock on Isaac’s face had disappeared and had now been replaced with confusion and a bit of anger. He instantly started to back Stiles up into a tree. 

“How the hell did you do that?” He snapped, Stiles letting out a small squeak of surprise. He watched as the others eyes flashed yellow, and a pair of fangs appeared in his mouth, along with claws instead of fingernails. 

When Stiles didn’t say anything, Isaac continued, his claws moving threateningly close to Stiles’ neck. “Huh? What was that weird-ass Harry Potter shit you just pulled?” He demanded. 

From behind him, Scott also approached. He placed a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, directing his attention only briefly. “Enough.” Was all Scott said, but Isaac didn’t budge from where he stood. He was too fixated on Stiles, too weirded out by a ten year old controlling him that he didn’t care about the consequences. 

“What /are/ you?” He asked, leaning down to get closer to Stiles. His eyes were practically glowing bright yellow, intimidating Stiles to the point where it almost looked like he was about to cry his eyes out. Scott pitied him; the poor kid was probably traumatized for the rest of his life. 

Finally, as if it was his cue, Derek appeared from out of the woods. He raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to examine the scene in front of his eyes. Obviously, he could smell the fear coming off of Stiles, so he needed no more explanation. 

Of course they were terrorizing some kid. What else would his lovely betas be doing? Fixing up their base camp? Oh, no, that wasn’t their job. Their job was to annoy the shit out of Derek and make him regret ever forming the pack with such dumbasses. 

“Isaac!” He snapped harshly, his eyes flashing red, warning Isaac to back down. Hesitantly, the beta backed away from Stiles and turned away, Scott following close behind him. Derek huffed angrily, turning his attention towards the child. He quickly started to make his way towards Stiles, giving him a pitying look. Stiles hated that look.

“Hey, kid,” He began, but got a bit too close for Stiles’ comfort. 

“Stop!” Stiles yelled, pressing himself heavily into the tree, as if he was trying to somehow escape, but had no out. “Don’t come any closer!” He closed his eyes tightly, moving to cover his face with his hands. 

Derek was forced to stop, a couple feet away from the other. But he was an alpha, he had more power and control than all of his betas combined. He took a slow step forwards before getting down on one knee, eye level with the other. “... I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.” He managed a small smile that almost wasn’t noticeable. 

He didn’t move any closer, didn’t attempt to touch Stiles or try to console him, despite how much he just wanted to cradle the child and make him happy. He didn’t know why, it was just some weird instinct he got. Usually he only got it when dealing with his annoying betas, though. 

Slowly, Stiles nodded his head and uncovered his face, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. He was so unbelievably terrified out of his mind and close to breaking down. He just very badly wanted to get out of there and get away from whatever these creatures were. He wanted to be alone. 

“... Alright…” Derek muttered softly, thinking for a brief moment. He needed to get this kid out of the woods, get him home. “Are you okay?” He first asked, figuring that was a good place to start. 

Stiles seemed to consider the question before he nodded, not making eye contact with Derek. The older male sighed in relief. He didn’t need a very upset and hurt kid on his hands. 

“Good.” He stated. “Is there anyone I can call to help you get home? A parent?” He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. 

The ten year old stubbornly shook his head and crossed his arms. “No!” He answered almost instantly, not having to think about his response at all. “I don’t want to go home.” He stated.

Derek raised an eyebrow at this. Great. Just great, something else he had to deal with that he totally didn’t want to deal with. “Why not?” He asked, keeping his patience. It was the least he could do to prevent from scaring the crap out of the poor kid. 

“... No reason.” He mumbled, looking away from Derek and instead focused on the ground. “... I live in the woods now. I’m gonna have a castle and I’m gonna rule it!” He declared. 

The alpha sighed heavily, glancing around at his pack. Erica and Boyd were curiously watching them, while Scott was trying to calm Isaac down, still. 

The more he thought about it, the more it only made sense to keep Stiles there with them. Obviously, the kid had some power on him; he was obviously a Druid. Something that would be pretty useful to the pack, even if he was young. With the help of Deaton, he would be able to harbor the child’s power, teach him how to use it properly. Not only that, but they’d be raising Stiles up in the supernatural world. Of course, it was dangerous, but at least the kid would know what was really out there. That, and he’d be living with a pack of werewolves. There were some up and downsides to everything, he supposed. 

“Fine.” He stated, sighing softly in defeat. He couldn’t argue with a ten year old. Or, more likely, he wasn’t about to attempt to do so. It was stupid and pointless. “What’s your name?” He questioned. 

Stiles contemplated this for a minute. “... Stiles.” He answered, deciding he would rather be called his nickname than his actual name. His actual name reminded him too much of his mother, and that was a wound he didn’t want to tear open again. He couldn’t think about her. 

Derek smiled in a friendly way. “I’m Derek.” He greeted, glancing over his shoulder to his pack. “Sorry about them; they like to mess with people, but they’re harmless.” He reassured. Stiles nodded at this, deciding to trust Derek. 

Derek continued to introduce the rest of his pack to the young boy before he stood back up. He offered his hand to Stiles, raising an eyebrow. “Wanna go instead?” He asked, nodding towards his house. 

At this, the ten year old seemed to light up with excitement, a smile splitting across his face. Derek liked how excited he looked. It was cute. “Yeah!” He was practically jumping with joy. “Can I?” He asked. 

The alpha nodded his head and lead the other inside. Despite it’s appearance on the outside, it was actually pretty nice on the inside. A while back, after Derek had formed his pack, he had began to fix up the inside. Make it more livable. Despite where the house was burned beyond repair in the back, it was nice looking. He had already fixed up rooms for each of his betas, though Scott and Isaac had decided to share a room after they began dating, along with Erica and Boyd. That left him with a couple of guest rooms, asides from his own room. Besides that, he had also cleaned up the kitchen, installing a new stove and fridge. Luckily, the house also had electricity. That was about it, though. It was all he needed to live there. 

The ten year old looked around with curiosity, not daring to touch anything, though. His attention bounced from one thing to another. It /was/ a castle, after all. One he was very excited to start living in. 

“You can go explore on your own,” Derek said after a few minutes, releasing the younger male's hand. He figured Stiles didn’t /really/ need to be watched over 24/7. “Just don’t break anything.” He warned.

Stiles lit up like a Christmas tree, nodding quickly. Though he only heard the first part of what Derek had said, too distracted by the fact that he was allowed to look around on his own. He darted around the house, taking his time to look at each and everything thing.

He didn’t start to actually touch anything until he found himself upstairs about ten minutes later. He had wandered into Derek’s room, his eyes fixating on a framed photograph hanging on the wall. Asides from that, there wasn’t much in Derek’s room. Only a bed, a lamp, and a desk in the corner of the room. It made him every more curious about the photo, seeing every other room was either messy or simple filled with personal items. 

Carefully, he reached his arms upwards and took the photograph off of its place on the wall. In the picture, was a rather large and happy looking family. He smiled back at the people in the photo, humming as he took his time too look at each face. He recognized the fact that each face resembled Derek in some way; especially a male that looked just a bit older than him sitting near two girls, and what he guessed was Derek’s mother. 

Stiles wondered where these people were now, and how many years ago this photo had been taken. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Derek when the other walked into the doorway. “Stiles-”, the other began, but was cut off as he watched as Stiles jumped, the framed photo slipping out of his fingers and onto the hardwood floor. 

For a minute, Stiles looked between the now broken frame and shattered glass, and Derek. His eyes were wide as his heart rate started to speed up. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” He said, tearing up. He didn’t want to mess up, after Derek had been so nice to him. 

The ten year old got down on his knees, attempting to pick of the pieces of glass and to put them back. He ignored it completely when a piece of glass sliced his finger. 

Derek blinked softly, moving forwards and grabbed the younger male, stopping him from doing anything more. “... Hey, it’s fine.” He said, taking the other’s wounded hand gently. If Stiles had been anyone else, like Scott, for example, he would have went off like a loose canon. 

“It’s just a frame, I can get it replaced.” He said softly, smiling a bit in order to calm the others now sobs down. He didn’t like seeing Stiles cry. In fact, he hated it. 

Stiles sniffled, tears spilling down his cheeks. He looked to the other with probably one of the most apologetic looks Derek had ever seen in his life. “... I’m still really sorry…” He muttered weakly, trying to stop himself from crying. 

Derek nodded softly, easily picking Stiles up and carried him to the bathroom to tend to his cut. “I know.” He said, setting Stiles on the sink. After getting out the medical kit, he cleaned the wound and dressed it. “But it really is okay. I can easily just buy another frame for a dollar at the store.” He explained. 

Stiles nodded his head softly, staying silent as the other wrapped a bandage around his finger. He was grateful he had Derek; grateful the other had saved him from Isaac and had overall been so kind to him. It was comforting. 

“... Thank you.” He mumbled to the other, keeping his head down, and his eyes averted. He really didn’t want to cry again, but he felt like he was going to. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted. 

The older male nodded, picking Stiles back up from where he had placed him on the sink. Stiles didn’t have to say anything more, he knew that the ‘thank you’ was simply for the bandage, but also for his kindness. He was just glad Stiles didn’t seemed to scarred after dealing with Isaac. 

“You’re probably tired… Right?” He asked, carrying Stiles back to his room. He avoided the broken glass on the floor, moving to pull back the covers on his bed before he placed Stiles on the large mattress. 

Stiles paused before he nodded. “... Yeah.” He answered, hesitantly moving to lay down. Derek pulled the covers up and over his small form. 

Derek nodded. “Then get some rest.” He suggested, ruffling Stiles’ hair before turning away. The other was almost instantly out like a light. He smiled, turning and proceeded to clean up the broken glass. He couldn’t have Stiles stepping in it, or him accidentally stepping into it at some point. After he was done, he placed the photograph on his nightstand. 

A couple hours later, after having a small meeting with his pack and privately talking with Isaac, he found himself on the opposite end of the bed than Derek. He didn’t want to leave the poor kid alone; he was too protective over him. He didn’t fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, fixated on watching over the kid. 

He should really get Stiles home sooner or later. 

oOo

It wasn’t too much of a surprise when Derek woke up to an empty bed. He figured that the curious ten year old would find his way out of the room in the morning and go exploring again. Derek at least hoped his pack wouldn’t do anything stupid. 

He sighed softly, taking his time to get dressed. Seeing he didn’t hear an accelerated heart beats or panicked screams, he figured Stiles was okay for the time being. 

When he finally found himself downstairs, he was greeted with the kitchen a mess, and Stiles and Scott standing over the stove. He raised an eyebrow, examining the flour that was covering both the kitchen appliances and Stiles and Scott. Of course. What a shocker. Another mess he’d have to clean up. 

He saw Scott visibly cringe when he noticed Derek’s presence. Usually when messes were made in Derek’s usually clean house, he got pissed and yelled. Scott knew that probably better than anyone. 

Derek didn’t yell, though. He sighed softly and walked over to sit on a stool next to the counter. “I hope you’ll be cleaning that.” He offered instead of yelling his head off. It was too early to be angry, anyways. 

Scott paused, blinking softly. This was a hell of a lot better than Derek screaming at him. “Of course.” He smiled nervously, expecting Derek to flip a switch at any second and scold him. 

Stiles smiled brightly as he looked to Derek, patches of flour smeared on his face and clothes. He held a spatula in one hand, having been flipping his very deformed pancakes. “I’ll clean it up as soon as I’m done, Der!” He said enthusiastically. “Promise!” 

Derek nearly melted at just how cute the ten year old was. The nickname was what really got him, making his maternal instincts scream at him to coddle Stiles and to hold him. 

“... Is it alright if I call you Der?” He questioned after thinking about it briefly. 

Quickly, the alpha nodded his head, surprising Scott. The beta would have thought that Derek would absolutely hate the nickname. “Yeah, it’s fine.” He smiled to the child. 

Huh. So Derek /did/ have a weak spot.

Derek glanced to Scott, instantly catching the odd look he was given. He knew exactly what Scott was thinking. He frowned. “Cut it out.” He snapped, his happy attitude changing within seconds. It didn’t seem to faze Stiles, seeing he was too busy poking at his pancakes. 

It sure as hell fazed Scott, though. The beta jumped, his eyes going wide. “Sorry.” He apologized quickly, turning back to the stove to help Stiles cook. 

Breakfast went by quickly after the two had gotten done quickly. Of course, all of his beta’s ate like animals; shoving the fluff, yet deformed, pancakes down their throats so fast that Derek wanted to smack them. They had absolutely no table manners; which he blamed himself for, seeing he had never actually bothered to enforce any. 

Oh well. Too late to start now. Besides, Isaac and Erica would just laugh at him anyways. 

“Was it good, Der?” Stiles asked after he had finished his food. The ten year old had taken a seat next to him at the end of the table, pulling his own chair to sit directly next to the alpha. Of course, it had surprised all of his betas how he was tolerating the ten year old. No one said a word about it, though. They knew better. 

Derek smiled softly, nodding his head. This kid was going to kill him with cuteness. “It was great, Stiles.” He answered honestly. Even if it hadn’t been great, he would have lied just for the sake of keeping that adorable smile on the others face. 

Stiles smiled even brighter, if that was even physically possible. “I’m glad.” He stated, swinging his feet under the table. 

Yep. Definitely the death of him. 

The majority of the day was spent with Stiles following him around the house. When Derek held a small pack meeting, Stiles sat down on the floor and hugged the alpha’s leg. It amazed him just how much of a liking Stiles had taken towards him. He simply didn’t understand how one kid could like him so much. Although, that didn’t mean he was complaining. He absolutely loved the attention and practically thrived on it. It gave him happiness he didn’t know he could harbor. 

Towards the end of the day, he decided it was time for a little training of his betas, so he took everyone outside. 

“Alright, basically we’re gonna play a little game of tag.” He paused. “Well, you’re going to play tag.” He corrected, gesturing to the betas that stood in front of him. Stiles sat on his shoulders, his tiny arms wrapped around his head and gripping him tightly.

It made it a little hard to take him serious, but the betas didn’t comment. They knew better. 

Erica raised her hand and Derek raised a brow. “Can we bite and claw?” She asked, smirking softly. She tilted her head to the side curiously. 

Derek nodded. “Do anything you want, use things to your advantage. Just don’t let the werewolf chasing you get a hold of you.” He stated, pausing to think. “Isaac; you’re it.” He stated after some consideration. He would have picked Scott, but Scott was the strongest. He’d win this silly game within minutes. Isaac needed some practice with capturing and ‘killing’. 

“Just don’t kill each other.” He added before nodding his head. “Now… Scatter. Whoever is caught first is the next one to be it.” He stated. He watched as his betas scattered, Isaac giving the three a head start of ten seconds. Then, he also disappeared into the densely wooded area. 

Stiles hummed softly, resting his head in the alpha’s hair. “... Do you have fangs and claws like them?” He asked after a couple of moments.

Derek awkwardly paused. He might as well tell Stiles the truth. It was only reasonable. “... Uh, yeah. I do.” He answered honestly. In return, Stiles squirmed off of the others shoulders and instead placed himself into Derek’s arms. He practically forced the other to hold him. 

“Lemme see.” He demanded, crossing his arms with a huff. 

Derek blinked, surprised. He would have thought that after Stiles’ first meeting with Isaac, the kid wouldn’t wanna see anymore fangs. “... Why?” He asked.

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “'Cuz! That’s cool. Show meeeee!” He whined, bouncing in the others hold. 

The alpha hesitated before he let out a sigh. “Fine, fine. Just stop squirming..” He mumbled, and on command his fangs appeared, along with his claws. Stiles watched with awe, reaching his hands out to pull apart Derek’s lips, peering at his fangs curiously. 

“... So cool..” Stiles muttered, smiling. 

God, this kid was so weird. At the same time, Derek really liked him and enjoyed his presence. It was nice to have someone who really looked up to him. He was glad Stiles stumbled upon him and his pack.


	2. Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Derek decides it's about time to go grocery shopping for the pack, Scott decides it's a pretty good time to make cupcakes with his new, young friend. What he doesn't know is that giving sugar to a ten year old really isn't such a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the cuteness and sugar-high Stiles.~

After spending a couple of days in the Hale household, Stiles was given his own separate room. Although, the ten year old seemed to make it his mission to sneak into Derek’s room late at night and cuddle up with him. The alpha just didn’t understand why the kid found him to be so likable. Especially since he was relatively grumpy- well, not towards Stiles, of course. But still, it was probably obvious to the kid how exactly Derek acted. 

He was a scary, mean, old, grumpy werewolf. So why’d Stiles look up to him so much? 

What the male also didn’t understand is why it was found appropriate for him to be the only one, most of the time, to babysit Stiles. Sure, he was the alpha of the pack, but that should have just been more of a reason for one of his betas to be looking after Stiles. 

“Erica, are you sure you don’t wanna look after him?” He asked her one day, Stiles having been clinging to his hand all day. The child simply refused to let go of Derek, for whatever reason he had. “I mean, don’t you have some sort of maternal instinct telling you to care for him?”

Erica scoffed, rolling her eyes at the alpha. She was currently watching a movie with Boyd on the couch, sitting across from where Derek stood. Still, Stiles was clinging to him. 

“Do I /look/ very maternal to you?” She asked, knowing full well the answer would be a flat out ‘no’. Out of all the betas there, she was probably the least maternal and the least interested in having any kids. 

The alpha sighed heavily, shaking his head. “No, but if you would just look after him for like an hour it’d be-” He was rudely cut off by Erica raising a hand. 

“Nope.” She said flatly, looking to him. “I’m sorry, Derek, but it’s honestly never going to happen. Not in your wildest dreams.” She turned down, obviously not interested in looking after a ten year old. 

“... Although, I think I know of someone who would love to look after him for a while.” She chimed in after thinking for a few moments. Derek raised an eyebrow as if to ask ‘who?’. “Scott,” she continued, twirling a piece of her hair between her fingers. “He does well with kids, plus he seems to get along with Stiles pretty well.” 

Derek nodded slowly, deciding it was better than nothing. He needed about an hour to himself so he could go food shopping for the pack, pick up all the things they needed so they wouldn’t have to leave the house during the week. It was just annoying to keep track of all the betas at once. He couldn’t handle it. 

He sighed as he bent down, picking Stiles up into his arms instead. “... Where are we going?” He asked, the kid having been zoning out for most of that conversation. Derek had also noticed after only a day of knowing Stiles that he had no attention span whatsoever. You could be talking to the kid and one second he’d be listening, but the next a butterfly would distract him. It would almost be amusing if it wasn’t so frustrating for Derek. 

“You’re going to spend some time with Scott while I go grocery shopping.” He said with a small, soft smile. “You won’t mind hanging out with Scott, right?” He asked, walking up the stairs and back to where the beta’s room was. 

Stiles shook his head, a grin spreading across his lips. “Of course not!” He said excitably, practically bouncing in the alpha’s arms. “I love uncle Scotty!” 

Derek raised an eyebrow at the nickname he had given Scott, but didn’t say anything of it. If that’s what he wanted to call Scott, it wasn’t his place to tell Stiles to stop. Honestly, it was sort of sweet how he gave nicknames to people. Adorable, even. 

Once stopped in front of the beta’s bedroom door, he knocked softly before entering. “Scott?” He questioned. The beta perked up from where he was sitting at his desk, glancing away from the book he had been flipping through. Unlike the other betas, Scott had decided to still stay in school. 

“Can you do me a small favor and watch Stiles for an hour while I go food shopping?” He asked, although he wasn’t really giving Scott a choice here. Even if Scott said no, he’d still leave Stiles there with him. 

Of course, though, Scott nodded his head with a happy smile. “Yeah, sure I’ll watch him.” He said, closing the book and stood from his seat. The beta happily took Stiles from Derek’s arms, Stiles instantly wrapping his arms around Scott’s neck to hug him. 

Derek ignored the small sting of jealousy he felt. 

“Thanks.” The alpha said, moving to ruffle Stiles’ hair before he left the room. He shouldn’t be getting jealous over how much attention one beta gets from his favorite kid. That same kid is who sneaks into his room every night to cuddle with him. That kid is the one who adores /him/ the most. 

Stiles bounced happily in Scott’s arm, having way too much energy to contain himself. “Scotty! Scotty!” He grinned, moving his hands into the beta’s hair, messing up the teen’s fluffy hair. He didn’t mind. “I missed you uncle Scotty, I haven’t seen you in a whole four hours! That’s soooooo long.” He whined a bit. 

The teen chuckled, carrying Stiles out of his room and down the stairs. He didn’t pay any attention to the two betas whom were now making out on the couch, rather than watching the movie. Nor did he pay any attention to the fact that Isaac was missing. He was probably outside messing with some poor squirrel. 

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. I had some homework to do.” He explained, placing Stiles down on the counter and paused. The beta put his hands on his own hips, smiling brightly. “Hey, I know what we should do; do you wanna make cupcakes?” He asked. 

Stiles lit up at the suggestion, eyes gleaming with hope that Scott wasn’t just messing with him. It was like the other was dangling a hundred dollar bill in front of him and saying ‘take it, it’s yours’. Only, this was ten times better than a hundred dollars. “Yes, yes, yes!!” He said excitably. “Can we pweeeaasee?” He begged. 

Scott nodded his head, beginning to get out the things they would need to make the cupcakes. It didn’t take long for there to once again be a mess of flour and other ingredients. It didn’t matter, though, Scott always ended up cleaning up any messes that were made. Stiles had also proven that he would help clean up messes. 

They passed time while the cupcakes cooked by Scott showing the ten year old videos on his phone. He at least tried to keep them PG for the other. 

When the oven dinged, Stiles lit up like it was Christmas morning and he was scheduled to get all the presents in the world. “Scotty! Uncle Scotty!” He squealed, watching as the beta used oven mitts to take out of the cupcakes. “When can I have one?” He asked.

Scott hummed softly. “Give them about five minutes to cool off, then you can have all the cupcakes you want.” He said, smiling. One kid couldn’t eat anymore than two cupcakes, right? At least, that's what he thought up until ten minutes later and almost all of the cupcakes were gone, Stiles having shoved them into his mouth. 

Scott was going to stop him from eating too much, he really was going to, but he just couldn’t bear taking something away from the kid that seemed to give him /so/ much joy. 

He learned it was a mistake to let Stiles eat that many cupcakes when the ten year old ended up on the floor, banging pots and pans together. Every time Scott tried to get near him to take them away, he screeched as if Scott was trying to light him on fire. It was terrifying. 

“What the hell did you feed him?” Erica yelled over the noise, walking over to stand next to Scott in the doorway of the kitchen. “Did you seriously let him eat all those cupcakes- what the hell, Scott?” She roughly slapped him on the back of the head. 

“Ow- I’m sorry, jeez.” He apologized halfheartedly with a small frown. He wasn’t too worried about what Erica thought of the situation; it was just what Derek would think when he got back. 

She scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. Boyd had been smart enough to retreat back upstairs, muttering something about ‘it’s your problem now, bro’. Yeah, wow, nice Boyd. Leaving a friend with your batshit crazy girlfriend, thanks. 

“I really hadn’t meant to let him eat all of them,” Scott explained, giving her those big, brown, puppy dog eyes that had a way to get to someone. She was one of the few people who wasn’t particularly affected by them. “He just… Looked so happy when I said he could have as many as he wanted- and he’s so cute- I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.” 

Erica sighed, rubbing her temples as she thought. Stiles was screaming like a banshee on the floor, still clanking the pots and pans together. It was getting increasingly hard to piece together a reasonable thought. A thought that didn’t involve strangling the kid to death. 

“Alright, alright! Enough!” She yelled, moving over to Stiles and tore the ‘instruments’ out of his hands, setting them aside. “That’s enough.” She growled. 

Stiles glared at her, cupcake smeared all over his face. He stuck out his tongue at the beta, crossing his arms. “It’s enough when I say it’s enough!” He yelled back, standing up suddenly to try and act taller. 

The ten year old puffed out his chest, narrowing his eyes at her. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing- this kid was trying to act tough. 

“I don’t have to listen to you! You’re not my mom!” He spat. 

“Listen here you little shit-” She started, but was suddenly pulled away by Scott. He figured the whole yelling at Stiles and scolding him wasn’t about to work. It just made him more defiant. 

“Eat my ass, old lady!” Stiles suddenly yelled, surprisingly both of the betas. The room went silent as they turned to stare at the small child in front of them. Scott nearly bursted out laughing, completely amused by what he had just said to Erica; someone who usually wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. 

Before the situation could escalate any further, Scott pulled Erica towards the stairs, pushing her towards them. “I got this.” He said, trying not to smile; to act serious. He really couldn’t with those words floating through his head. He wondered who Stiles had learned that from. 

She huffed, but didn’t argue as she stomped up the stairs. After a few moments, he heard a door roughly slam. 

Back to the situation at hand; Scott walked back over to the kitchen. Stiles was making wall art with frosting- lovely. Derek was going to have an absolute field day when he got home and saw this shit. Honestly, Scott didn’t know what he could do to stop this kid at this point. It was a lost cause. 

Maybe if he just walked away and locked himself in his room he wouldn’t be blamed- nah, that would never work. Derek would knock the door down and beat his little werewolf ass. 

“Hey, Stiles,” He begun, slowly approaching the other. Stiles stopped what he was doing to look to Scott, glaring. It was as if the kid was a completely different person when on a sugar high. “Um- maybe we should clean this up, hmm?” He asked, leaning down to be eye level with the other.

Stiles stared at him for one, two seconds before he raised a hand covered in chocolate frosting and smeared it down Scott’s face. The beta stayed silent, not knowing exactly how he should react. Obviously, yelling wouldn’t do anything but make Stiles worse. 

“I mean- I could clean it up,” he moved to wipe his face with the sleeve of his jacket, raising an eyebrow at the other. “And you could go outside and play in the leaves?” 

The ten year old stubbornly shook his head and crossed his arms. He was an absolute mess, filled with flour, cupcake mix, and frosting. The kid would need a bath. “No!” He refused.

Scott sighed softly, pausing as he took a few moments to think. How would you get a kid outside willingly? He could lock him outside- No, bad idea. He’d probably start crying. 

“Don’t you wanna go outside and play with Isaac?” He asked. Once again, Stiles shook his head, uninterested in doing anything but sitting there and making a mess. Scott sighed in defeat, deciding to start cleaning up what he could, meanwhile Stiles continued his wall art. 

It didn’t take long for Derek to return. The alpha stopped right outside of the kitchen, his eyes wide as he dropped the grocery bags he was holding. He looked utterly shocked, as if he had expected so much better of Scott and Stiles; which he had expected better of them. Coming home to a mess, and Stiles slapping his frosting covered hands onto the wall wasn’t something he expected. 

He paused to take in the scene, Stiles not even bothering to stop what he was doing. The kid didn’t spare any glances to Derek, acting as if he wasn’t even there. 

“Scott-” He growled, the beta jumping in surprise. He put down the pots he had been trying to put away. “May I have a word with you?” He asked, glaring at the other. Scott nodded quickly, and followed him into the living room. 

“What the hell?” Was the simple question he asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly at the beta. He wanted to know why this happened- how his beta could even let it get this far. 

 

Scott didn’t look into his eyes, keeping his gaze cast down as he explained the situation. “... And, well, I didn’t wanna say no… So he’s on a sugar high, and apparently he becomes intolerable when you give him sugar…” He finished explaining, glancing to Derek a bit. The alpha was still glaring at him harshly. “I’m sorry…” He muttered weakly. 

Derek paused before he let out a sigh. “Go upstairs. I’ll take care of it.” He said, watching as Scott instantly scampered up the stairs, nearly stumbling on the steps. The older male headed back into the kitchen, examining the situation briefly. 

“Stiles,” he begun, moving over to kneel next to the child. Finally, he stopped finger painting to look to Derek. He gave the alpha an innocent, heartwarming smile. 

“Hey, Der.” He greeted, giggling softly. It was almost adorable enough to make the alpha forget the mess. 

“Don’t you think it might be time to clean up this mess?” He asked curiously, trying not to seem too angry. 

Stiles hummed as he thought for a couple of seconds before he reached forwards, smearing frosting onto the others face. “Nope. Screw you, Der.” He said cheerfully. 

Something in Derek snapped as he picked up the other. “Alright, bath time.” He said flatly, carrying the squirming ten year old upstairs and into the bathroom. He held the other over his shoulder as he started the bath, adding in soap to create a bubble bath. When it was filled, he dropped Stiles in. By then, the ten year old had tears at the corner of his eyes, close to throwing a tantrum. 

“I don’t wanna!!” He yelled, splashing around in the water and making a mess. Derek ignored him, leaning down to take off the other’s now wet clothes. He threw them aside casually, not particularly caring. 

“I don’t care what you want or don’t want, you need a bath, Stiles.” He deadpanned, grabbing a washcloth to start scrubbing the cupcake and frosting off of the younger male. Stiles struggle the entire time, occasionally splashing Derek, but didn’t do more than that. He ended up tiring himself out, slumping back in the tub and simply allowed Derek to wipe his face. 

Derek smiled softly, happy that the other was coming down from his sugar high. Maybe now the kid would finally stop being a little jerk. “You tired?” He asked, though he already knew the answer. 

Stiles nodded his head softly, not meeting the others eyes. “... I’m sorry, Der..” He muttered, twiddling his thumbs. He really did look like he felt horrible, and it was adorable. 

“It’s fine, Stiles.” Derek said, moving to pick the other up out of the tub before quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the other. “Now I at least know not to give you too much sugar.” He shrugged his shoulders, drying the other off. Afterwards, he lead the other to his room, pulling out one of his old t-shirts and a pair of shorts that would certainly be pants on Stiles. 

After he helped Stiles get dressed, he placed the other into his bed, covering him with the sheets. Stiles held out his arms, making grabby hands at the other. “... Cuddle…” He muttered, yawning softly. 

Derek paused softly, smiling a bit as he got into the bed as well. The mess downstairs could wait until tomorrow. He sighed softly, as Stiles snuggled into his side, wrapping his arms around Derek’s abdomen. 

He figured he could just make Scott clean it up tomorrow, no big deal. 

“Goodnight, Stiles.” He said softly, the other already fast asleep in his arms.


	3. Homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finally decides to let out some details on why exactly he was in the woods in the first place, and why he refuses to go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! So sorry for not updating in quite a while, I've been busy doing summery things. But here I am now. Do-nut worry. (HaHahAHaHA shitty puns. I'm sorry.) 
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

John sighed heavily, his head in his hands as he rubbed at his temples. It had been a week and a half since Stiles had run away, and he was running out of hope. He had the entire police station focused on trying to find his son, rather than anything else. It was tiring. They were coming up with no leads, other than the fact that Stiles had run into the woods. 

By now, though, the Sheriff knew that Stiles could be anywhere. Hell, the poor kid could be lost out in the woods, terrified, and he could do nothing but look and wait until a lead came up to where his son had gone. 

It was tearing him apart. He didn’t want to lose hope in his only child being alive, but he was. The woods wasn’t exactly the safest place for a child to be, and he knew that. He knew that all too well. Over his career, plenty of child had gone missing in the woods and most had ended up turning up dead.

He looked up as Parrish knocked on his door, the young looking officer poking his head in. “Sir, a search party for your son is going to be going on in thirty minutes… Do you want to come?” He questioned. Parrish was giving the Sheriff a sympathetic look; everyone had been giving him the same look for days. He was growing sick of it. He just wanted Stiles back. 

John cleared his throat, sitting up in his seat. He had paper work to do, things to focus on other than his own self wallowing. Sitting there crying about it wasn’t going to get Stiles back to him. “Uh, yeah.” He answered, nodding his head. “Of course. I’ll be there.” 

Parrish slowly nodded his head, about to close the door when he opened it again, giving the Sheriff a stern look. “We’ll find him, sir.” He reassured. “The kids probably off messing around in some bushes. He’s fine.” He said before leaving, softly closing the door behind him.

It left a small, hopeful smile on John’s lips. Stiles was a strong kid, he’d be fine. He’d be fine.

He’d be /okay/.

That hope he kept slowly disappeared over the weeks to come. Search party after search party, and they still hadn’t found Stiles. They didn’t even find any signs of him ever being in the woods. Nothing. It was as if his son had disappeared into thin air. 

After a month, the search party’s stopped all together. John had completely lost hope. His son was probably dead somewhere out in the woods, having been lost and alone. It broke him to pieces, but he kept up a facade that he was okay. 

A funeral was even held for Stiles. He kept a poker face throughout it, occasionally exchanging words with people. They gave him their pity, but nothing they could say or do would bring back his son. The last good thing in his life was rudely taken from him, leaving him broken and alone. 

John knew that there was probably nothing he could do to ever get Stiles back. His only son was probably dead, and he didn’t even have a body to bury. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t know what more he could do; the entire police station had searched the woods thousands of times and had turned up with empty hands each time.

After two months, things around Beacon Hills went back to normal for everyone. Or, everyone except for the Sheriff. Things could never return to normal for him. Sure, he kept the same routine in work, working himself to the bone, but he turned to drinking every night. 

He had nothing to live for anymore, his wife was dead, and his son had disappeared. 

oOo

Things continued normally for the pack. All except for having a child druid on their hands. Once Stiles had learned that he had more powers than just controlling the pack (not like he used that to his advantage), he started trying to use his powers. Magic, to be exact. 

If the child concentrated hard enough, he could get objects to hover in the air. He couldn’t really go any farther than that, though, it tired him out to try and do anything else. Although, that didn’t mean that he didn’t get up everyday and attempt new things. He tried his damn hardest to do other things.

Stiles tried, for example, to conjure something up by just thinking of it. It didn’t exactly come too easy, though. Especially since he’d be trying to concentrate, but his mind would wander. Sure, he /could/ conjure things, but they would end up being messed up since he would get distracted. Like when he had tried to conjure up a piece of paper. He had started thinking of brownies, and the paper had come out crumpled up and brown. 

Still, he never gave up on his powers. If anything, this simply fueled his determination to make things work. To do whatever he wanted. 

On this particular day, he was sitting outside in the leaves next to a tree, Isaac and Scott sitting on the porch steps watching him. The both of them had found that Stiles’ process was very interested; especially the constipated face the child made when he was concentrating. 

“Anything happening over there yet, buddy?” Isaac asked, a clear amused smirk on his lips. The moment he spoke, Stiles had lost concentration in what he was doing and the leaves he had been levitating fell back to the ground. 

The child huffed, turning his head to glare at the beta. 

In response, Isaac put up his hands, shrugging his shoulders. “Sorry, sorry.” He apologized halfheartedly. 

After shooting one last glare towards the older male, Stiles turned his attention back to the small leaves that were in front of him. He began again with trying his hardest to concentrate solely on them; slowly, once again, the leaves rose up off the ground and begun to spin at a leisurely pace. 

The betas watched the leaves levitate in the air, clearly impressed at what Stiles was doing. It was amazing that just a child was doing this. No less, a child they had met purely by chance. If Stiles hadn’t ran into the woods that day and run into them, his powers would have most likely remained dormant for the rest of his life- he would have lived a normal life. Scott often voiced how much of a concern that was for him. They were practically corrupting the child, teaching him about another side to the world that he was most likely better off without it. No one ever argued with him on the subject, seeing he was right. He knew he was right. Some part of him knew they should return Stiles home to his child, but never once had Stiles so much as spoken of another life. It was as if Stiles had been there all along with them. The child didn’t want to leave, for whatever reason, and they all knew that. 

The day was spent lazily; the betas hanging around outside watching over Stiles. They went about their lives, doing everything together. Except now that included a ten year old. When it was finally time for dinner, and around the time the sun was starting to set, Derek had finally arrived home from whatever he did during the day. None of the betas had ever questioned him on it, so no answers were ever given. 

Scott usually simply figured that their alpha was going into town to make sure there wasn’t anything too unusual happening in Beacon Hills. Well, asides from a pack of werewolves keeping a child in the middle of the woods, teaching him how to use magic. 

Derek smiled as soon as he saw Stiles, marching right over to the child and picked him up into his arms. In return, the child giggled and hugged Derek. “Hey, how’s your day been?” He asked, heading inside. 

His betas moved to follow him inside, all looking at him with interest. Dinner for werewolves usually meant going out in the woods and training until they were all starving, and then coming back to the house and eating almost everything in the fridge and cabinets. Well, that was after it was decided who would watch Stiles for the night. 

Last night Erica had the honor of watching him, so tonight would most likely be Boyd’s turn. Erica thought she was punishing her boyfriend for leaving her with the child, when really he enjoyed looking after Stiles. And secretly, as much as she would never admit to it, Erica actually did enjoy spending time with Stiles. As long as you didn’t give him sugar, he was a pretty decent kid. 

“Great, Der Bear!” The child exclaimed, smiling brightly as Derek set him down on the kitchen counter, a look of pure interest in the alpha’s eyes. The older male seemed to listen closely as Stiles continued to go on and on about his day, telling the alpha every little detail about what had happened; routine. 

Over time, Derek had grown quite fond of Stiles. To a point where it had actually begun to freak his beta’s out. They had never seem Derek act so /gentle/ with anyone before. He wasn’t even like that with his Uncle Peter. Although, in Derek’s defense Peter was quite annoying and just flat out weird. Still, not once Derek had ever shown affection to anyone in such lengths. Not even a smile. 

Derek gently ruffled Stiles’ hair, sparing a glance to the beta’s who had piled onto the couch that certainly wasn’t meant to fit all four of them. “That sounds like an awesome day.” He commented. 

“Alright,” he announced, clearing his throat and looked towards his pack. “Who’s gonna watch him tonight?” He questioned. No one said anything, as if was a burden to watch Stiles. It wasn’t; really, they just all wanted to go and mess around in the woods together. 

The alpha hummed, taking a moment to consider things. “Fine.” He sighed, turning back to Stiles, smiling softly to the child, who of course smiled back. “I’ll watch him tonight.” He stated blandly, though he was clearly happy to do it. 

All of the beta’s excitedly got off of the couch, each heading out the front door. Scott paused to look back at Derek. “I’ll make sure they don’t do anything too stupid.” He reassured. In return, Derek nodded, and Scott disappeared out the door. 

The two stared at one another for a minute before Derek spoke. “What do you wanna do?” He asked, picking Stiles up off of the counter and set him down on the floor. Compared to Derek, Stiles was tiny; he was a fragile, small, child. One that, at first, Derek had been afraid he would break. Stiles had proven that wouldn’t be done so easily. 

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, grabbing a hold of Derek’s hand and lead the werewolf past the living room, and up the stairs. “We could watch a movie in your room.” He suggested. Derek had a crappy old, small TV in his room. It wasn’t hooked up to cable or anything, but it had a VCR to play movies. Which, he had quite a few of those. 

Easily, Derek had agreed to watching a movie with Stiles, and after about an hour of Stiles picking what movie would be just right, they laid down in Derek’s bed to watch it. That was, of course, after Derek had made them popcorn and Stiles had made a semi-fort. It was actually quite comfortable. 

Talking ceased after the movie started, but Derek began to notice something after a while… Stiles smelt like anxiety. As if he was perhaps scared, or nervous. 

“Stiles,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around the others shoulders and brought him closer to his side. “You okay?” He asked, looking concerned. 

Stiles tensed for a moment before he relaxed into the others hold, nodding his head softly. “Uh, yeah.” He muttered back. He hadn’t even been paying attention to the movie anymore. 

After a week or so of starting to live with the pack, Stiles had started to feel… Home sick. Running away wasn’t all it had cracked up to be. Sure, he had met Derek, and Scott, and the rest of the pack but--- he missed his dad. He missed his home life and school, and… He missed his mom. He wanted her back so badly, despite knowing she would never come back to him. 

“... I just.” He added after a moment, glancing up at Derek. He decided it was best to be honest. Derek was the one being kind to him, having offered him a home, and a family, a roof over his head and food on the table for him. The werewolf had been oh so kind to him, not even asking anything in return. “... I’m homesick.” He admitted quietly. 

Derek frowned softly. He wasn’t disappointed or anything, but rather, sympathetic. “Stiles, if you want to go home, I could take you home.” He offered. “You only have to give me an address- or simply just a last name.” 

Instantly, Stiles shook his head. “No-” he paused, looking away as he pushed back tears. “I can’t go home, not now after all this time… And after…” He shook his head again, moving to wipe away the tears forming at his eyes. This was stupid and pointless. It was his own idea to run away, make a new life for himself, he shouldn’t be second guessing himself now. Especially when he really had no home to return to anymore- his dad had probably already moved on, forgotten about him and forgotten about his mom. 

“You know you can talk to me. I’m here for you, even if you don’t want to go home… You can tell me anything.” He said gently, comfortingly rubbing the child’s back and running his fingers through Stiles’ hair. 

They sat in silence for a long while; Stiles crying silently as he buried his face in Derek’s side. The alpha didn’t mind, he simply continued to at least attempted comforting the other. He didn’t know exactly what he could do that would possibly make Stiles feel better. Hell, there was probably nothing in the world he could do to make him feel better- other than taking him home. 

But Stiles didn’t want that- that had been made crystal clear to him. Though, what he didn’t understand is why. He needed to know why, to protect Stiles from whatever was preventing him from going home, or at least to make sure the child wasn’t in any danger. He wanted Stiles to be okay. 

“... I ran away from home.” Stiles broke the silence, his voice sounding so small and weak, but Derek heard it clear as day. The alpha stay quiet, letting Stiles speak when and if he felt comfortable enough to do so. 

The child cleared his throat, moving his face out of the others side and wiped his face with the sleeves of his shirt. “I was, uh, in the hospital with my mom… She was very sick, and....” He trailed off, looking away. He bit his lower lip as it trembled, pausing to hug himself tightly. “... My dad hadn’t got there until after she was gone… I-I just really didn’t want to be there anymore- without my mom- so I ran…” He explained, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest. He was scared; terrified Derek would tell him his reasoning was stupid, and that he didn’t even had a good reason for running away. 

Instead, Derek simply hugged him, bringing him close into a warm embrace. He nearly choked up again, his arms wrapping around the alpha’s neck tightly. “I’m sorry.” Derek said softly, it being just above a whisper. “You can stay here as long as you want, but…” 

Stiles dreaded the word ‘but’. It always always said after something good, and then ended it with something bad. 

“Your dad is probably worried sick about you....” He said, sighing softly. 

The child nodded his head softly, resting his head on Derek’s shoulder. “I know…” He muttered, pausing a moment to think. “I-... I want to go home eventually… To see my dad, tell him I’m alright… But just not now…” 

Derek nodded his head, placing a hand on the back of the other’s head. “Okay.” He responded, smiling a bit, glad that Stiles had felt comfortable enough around him to tell him everything. It was a step in the right direction to get this kid home and back to his dad, although… Part of Derek didn’t want Stiles to leave. He knew it was wrong, and selfish to think, but he wanted Stiles to stay there with them. It was a stupid idea. 

“... Thank you, Der Bear…” He mumbled as he drifted off to sleep in the other’s arms, face buried in Derek’s shoulder.

Derek just hoped getting Stiles home to his dad would happen sooner than later; the kid needed his dad, not some pack of werewolves.


End file.
